1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers for dispensing fluid or semi-fluid medications or foods to humans or animals. More particularly, the invention relates to a disposable dispensing container capable of positively injecting a pre-measured dosage of liquid into the mouth of a patient.
2. Description of Background Art
Nursing homes, hospitals and similar institutions have a continuing need for the periodic administration of liquid medications and/or food supplements to a substantial percentage of the patients residing there. One traditional way of dispensing such liquids to patients requires the steps of having a nurse or other health care employee consult the patient's chart to determine the required dosage, pour a measured amount of the medication from a bulk container into a separate dispensing means such as a spoon, and transfer the liquid from the dispensing means to the patient's mouth. The procedure described above is simple enough, yet has certain disadvantages. For example, the bulk supplies of medication must be transferred to the vicinity of the patient, and errors in filling the dispensing means and administering the contents of the dispensing means to the patient can be, and frequently are made when the dosage is prepared at the patient's bedside. The procedure also requires the use of a separate disposable or sterilizable spoon or other such dispensing means for each dosage administered.
To alleviate some of the potential problems of incorrect dosages being administered to patients, some nursing homes, hospitals and similar institutions have adopted a somewhat more reliable procedure for administering liquid medications to patients. For example, some institutions employ a pharmacist to prepare a pre-measured unit dosage of medication for each patient, placing each unit dosage in an individual container. The container is marked with information identifying the patient and contents and additional information as required. To ensure the integrity of the type and quantity of medication which is ultimately administered to a patient, the individual containers must be sealed with a tamper-proof or tamper-evident seal. Thus, previously existing unit dosage packaging methods often required special, expensive sealing equipment. The cost of such equipment was not readily amortizable by smaller nursing homes and similar institutions of limited resources, and therefore has not been used as extensively as might be desirable from both the patient's standpoint and that of the health care facility. Also, the use of conventional unit dosage packages still requires the use of a separate dispensing means such as a disposable spoon, thus adding the cost of maintaining an inventory of dispensing means, and disposing of them after use, to the other costs associated with dispensing medication.
A variety of dispensers capable of dispensing a measured amount of liquid have been proposed, some of them intended for dispensing medicines. The latter include those disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
Wood, 3,351,241, Nov. 7, 1967, Medicine Dispenser PA0 Whang, 4,214,679, July 29, 1980, Measured Quantity Dispenser PA0 Adams, 3,178,081, Apr. 13, 1965, Metering Liquid Dispensing Device PA0 Elmore, 3,323,689, June 6, 1967, Dispensing Bottle PA0 Ford, 4,596,343, June 24, 1986, Foam Dispensing Device PA0 Libit, 4,600,130, July 15, 1986, Squeeze Pressure Dispenser With Integral Siphon Tube PA0 Drobish, 4,640,442, Feb. 3, 1987, Dispensing Package And Follower Device
Metering liquid dispensing devices intended for non-medicinal applications are disclosed in the following U.S. patent:
Dispensing containers employing pressurization of the container are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
All of the prior art dispensers which the present inventor is familiar with, including those disclosed above, have one or more inherent limitations which limit their applicability to the problem of providing an effective unit dosage system for nursing homes and similar institutions. Thus, prior dispensing containers have required multiple components, must be tilted in particular orientations for filling and dispensing, require multi-element pump mechanisms, or are not suited for dispensing liquids to patients. In view of the desirability of having an effective unit dosage oral liquid measure/dispenser, and of the limitations of existing related devices, the present invention was conceived.